<p>As an example, a parent on CC suggested that students interested in CMC take a look at the following essay with special attention to the student comments in the comment section.</p>
<p>Comments from actual, current students at CMC paint a not so pretty picture of the culture at CMC (separate and apart from the current SAT scandal).</p>
<p>CMC definitely does not have a significant arts culture, something most stand-alone LACs, including some with significant “bro” cultures, take for granted. While it likes to compare itself to Williams, Middlebury and Bowdoin, in point of fact, with over 40% of its students majoring in either finance, economics or accounting, the closest match socially and academically is probably Washington and Lee.</p>
<p>First, you could be interested to know that CMC and HMC offer a 3-2 program where you receive a degree in Economics from CMC and a degree in Engineering from HMC in 5 years.</p>
<p>Secondly, take that article and its comments with a grain of salt. I would certainly say that is not true of the majority of CMC. However, if you identify with some of the posters in there, perhaps CMC is not the school for you.</p>
<p>Thirdly, CMC and HMC are both colleges, after all. While there may be more partying/drinking culture at both, there are plenty of opportunities within the schools and consortium to do other things other than drinking, like most colleges. Just a couple minutes walk from any of the 5C campuses and you’ll find yourself in the Claremont Village, which does have those activities on the weekends. You will always be able to find people to do those things with you, even with people who drink on a regular basis. I would certainly say that partying at CMC and HMC is done in far more moderation than at some other schools.</p>
<p>Long story short I visited and loved it. I like the emphasis on leadership, the location is fantastic, and I got a really good vibe from the students that I spoke with. Also the consortium provides a pretty unique college environment. Also I’m most interested in Econ.</p>
<p>Urtheman, with all due respect, stop asking anonymous posters about the “social aspect” of CMC and, instead, go visit the school. Spend a night (preferably Thursday) and see for yourself what the social scene is like. That is the only way your going to know if the school is right for you. The more people you ask here, the more confused you’re going to get. Remember, this is the internet, asking anonymous posters is hardly a reliable way to choose a school.</p>
<p>I agree with parent57. A visit is the best way to experience the social culture and it will help you to know whether or not you would be happy at a place like CMC</p>
<p>Sorry to hear about that, ilikesalad. Don’t get too down about this; I bet you will end up at a great school. As much as the CC posters fret about selecting the right schools, most kids end up at colleges where they have a terrific experience. This is a small bump in the road for you. Ask any successful person and they will tell you that they have learned much more from their failures than the successes. It’s how you handle the occasional obstacles in life that separates the truly successful from everyone else.</p>
<p>Dear urtheman,
If you are interested in the 3-2 program, I strongly suggest that you contact Professor Higdon. He’s the advisor for the program and can your question better than anyone here can do, myself included.
That said, I go to CMC and am an Economics and Engineering major (Pretty much like ME, only EE gets a full econ degree and ends up taking 3 more classes). Quite frankly, the party culture is almost equivalent between the two colleges. The major parties at both schools are 5C and both have the red cup policy in place.<br>
If you’re interested in majoring in Econ and Engineering, you can do the programs at both schools. The 3-2 program is, obviously, done in 5 years. If you want to lower the costs of tuition, I have a friend at Mudd who is doing the major in 4. That said, he’s very miserable and rarely emerges from his room.
If you like CMC and Mudd, do the 3-2 at CMC (I’m pretty sure that you have to do Econ first while taking all the engineering pre-requisites). It really doesn’t matter which school you do it from, outside of GE’s.<br>
Good luck!</p>
<p>just to respond to previous concerns over social life, one can and most likely will have a vibrant social life as a non-drinker at CMC and any of the 5cs provided you are generally sociable. I had various friends at all the colleges who chose to be sub-free and they all enjoyed their experience. The thing is you must take initiative in associating yourself with other people who will also be sub free and partake in their social activities. That said, the collegiate atmosphere at the 5Cs is unlike many other schools. What I mean by this is that there is very little social pressure to partake in something you might not want to do, yet you can still be friends with those who, for instance, drink and party. While cmc may have more of a reputation as a party school, there is a very good chance you will find your niche as there will be other cmcers who will not drink along with other students from the 5Cs who are like you. </p>
<p>On a side note, I am very curious as to why John Wesley posts on some of these forums so often despite his lack of affiliation to any of the 5Cs.</p>
<p>After some internet research (I could be wrong), but you can leave a party with a drink in a red cup and not be stopped by campus security (unless you are being unruly or loud).</p>
<p>I graduated from CMC in 2010. I would agree that, in some sense, it is less intellectual than Pomona. By that I mean Pomona students are much more likely to get PhDs and pursue academic careers. CMC students tend to care more about real world applications of what they learn in the classroom.</p>
<p>But I think an important caveat is that many (if not most) people don’t fit a school’s stereotype. I enjoy learning for the sake of learning and wouldn’t touch a finance or accounting class with a ten foot pole. But I fit in fine at CMC. Sure the school has a fair amount of Wall Street-bound bros, but lots of people don’t fit that mold. </p>
<p>I would say that it’s helpful to at least care about world events at CMC. You don’t have to major in gov or econ, but most people do enjoy talking about current events. So if you only care about math or art, you might have some trouble connecting with people.</p>
<p>And yes, the red cup policy means campus police won’t bother you if your drink is in a cup. If you’re drinking from a bottle of beer, then laws against open alcohol containers apply and they have to make you pour it out. But if you’re drinking from a cup, then theoretically they don’t know what’s in it so they won’t stop you.</p>
<p>So, even if you have a beer bottle and are underage they won’t bust you?</p>
<p>Ds and I are headed there next week to look at CMC and Pomona. Are y’all saying it will be immediately apparent which school has “his people,” or can someone reasonably like both schools?</p>